"H-Hello, this is Henry…" he answered nervously, trying to keep his voice steady.
A calm, professional female voice responded on the other end.
("Good morning, Mister Henry Smith. I'm Flora, a receptionist from the Superhero Bureau. I'm calling to inform you that your deadline to report back to the Bureau has passed. Are you experiencing any difficulties?")
Hearing such a polite and composed voice made Henry's heart race with anxiety. He straightened up and hurried to respond.
"N-No! No trouble at all. Actually, I was just about to head over there right now."
"Yes. Yes, I understand."
"Okay, thank you."
He quickly ended the call and let out a long breath. His palms were damp with sweat.
'I can fight some thugs, but why do I always get nervous talking to these office people…?'
Even visiting the hospital made him anxious. Official bureaucracy was another beast entirely.
Just then, Rio, who sat nearby with their twin daughters in her arms, glanced over in concern. The babies were still fussing, each stretching their little arms toward Henry, demanding to be held.
She gently rocked them and asked, "Is everything okay?"
Henry nodded but felt embarrassed by how flustered he'd acted in front of his girlfriend and their kids.
'I'm a certified Ability User now. I should be dependable—not a nervous wreck.'
'And as the head of this family, I need to act like it.'
Taking a steadying breath, he met her gaze and spoke with more confidence.
"I'm sorry, but I need to report back to the Superhero Bureau right away. I'll have to leave in a bit."
Rio nodded understandingly and gave a reassuring smile. "It's fine. I can take the kids back to my rental apartment for now."
As she stood up, preparing to leave—
"No! Ba ba! Wuuuuu wuuuu!" Rion burst into tears, having understood enough to know her papa was leaving.
Henrietta was a beat behind, but as soon as she saw her sister cry, she joined in.
"Ba ba hug! Hug! Wuuuuu!"
The double attacks from the twins left both parents in trouble.
"Rion, Henrietta, Papa's just leaving for a little while. He'll be back soon, okay?" Henry tried to calm them, his heart twisting at their cries.
Then he turned to Rio with a half-angry, half-playful look. "And you—what was that about going back to your apartment? You're my child's mother. So my house is also your house, okay?"
"Stay here," he added firmly. "Let's raise our daughters together."
Rio blinked, surprised by his sudden assertiveness. He was two years younger than her, yet here he was, scolding her like a caring husband.
But still, instead of irritation, she felt warmth.
'He called this my home… He really wants us to be a family…'
She smiled softly, her cheeks pink. "Alright. I'll stay here."
Then, in a more serious tone, "You should go. I can handle them."
Henry hesitated, reluctant to leave, but finally gave a nod. He gently kissed both daughters on the forehead, whispering reassurances, then turned to go.
But before he could reach the door—
"What now?" he asked, startled.
Ry-Two stepped in front of him, blocking his way.
"Come with me. Urgent matter," the clone said mysteriously.
Before Henry could ask, Ry-Two grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the bathroom.
"??"
Rio blinked in confusion but soon had her hands full again with two wailing babies, distressed by their Papa's sudden disappearance.
"It's alright, my darlings… Papa will be back soon," she whispered, rocking them gently.
"Let Mommy sing a song for you, okay?"
...
While Rio was struggling with her daughters, Henry found himself inside a spacious toilet with Ry-Two.
After hearing out the reason behind this sudden action of his clone, Henry was bewildered.
"Are you sure?" He tried to confirm again.
Ry-Two nodded, then glanced around the toilet, saw the metal comb on the washing table, and picked it up.
Then he easily bent it, spinning the poor comb into a metal bar.
"How about this?" He gave the metal bar to Henry, who had already opened his eyes wide.
"Damn, this is too badass, right!?" Henry exclaimed.
He tried to apply some force to the metal bar, but found it was impossible with his current strength.
"It's indeed real! Ha ha!"
"Let's merge back!"
Henry excitedly commanded Ry-Two, who obediently turned into particles and returned into Henry's body.
Then, throbbing pain exploded everywhere in his body.
Being taken by surprise, Henry fell to the ground, but he tried his best not to let out any noise, lest he cause his girlfriend to worry.
Some minutes later, the pain diminished.
Henry instantly felt his body overflowing with power, and his mind became so clear that his thinking speed greatly increased.
After stabilizing himself and getting used to the new power, Henry tried to find the metal he had dropped somewhere nearby, picked it up, and applied force to it again.
"As expected, the strength of a Physical Type is really what is needed for survival," Henry commented as he inspected the flattened metal in his hand, then added with a frown, "but why can't I call out the System Ry-Two obtained at all?"
He tried everything according to Ry-Two's memories, to no avail.
Then revelation hit.
Since Henry's mind was now greatly enhanced, his processing speed was also faster; he quickly noticed the off point and came up with an answer.
Then he summoned his clone again.
"How is it?" Ry-Two asked the moment he appeared.
"I got the power but not the System; it might already be bound to you. You try it," Henry answered.
Ry-Two was quiet for a while, but then he nodded.
"System."
He called out, and as expected, it appeared.
Both Henry and Ry-Two could see the transparent menu of the System, but as they predicted, only Ry-Two was able to interact with it, since he was the real Host of the System.
Henry felt defeated by his clone.
But suddenly, an outrageous thought came into his head.
"Now that you already have such a cheat like the System, why don't we... just let you go to the Bureau and register as a Physical Type Ability User?" Henry suggested.
Ry-Two also shared his brain cells, so he instantly understood his motive.
"You want to stay at home taking care of our daughters?" He asked.
Henry gave him a nod.
As a clone and also the father of the two babies, Ry-Two had no reason to refuse this. Anyway, the next time they merged and split again, he'd have all the memories with his children.
So for Ry-Two, this wasn't a loss.
On the other hand, he could also keep the original safe from life-threatening dangers in future Superhero work.
Now that the two men shared the same mind, they started to revise a new plan for the sake of their future.
...
Thirty minutes later.
Rio glanced at Ry-Two walking outside the house while asking Henry, "Is it okay for him to go out on his own?"
The two babies in Henry's arms were also confused; they saw two Papas. But their Papa was clearly next to them. How could he leave the house at the same time?
Henry smiled and explained, "My ability is a bit special, as my clone can act independently without my control, and he also shares my memories, so unless he intentionally exposes himself, they won't be able to see through this trick!"
Hearing that explanation, Rio was still not convinced, but thinking that her boyfriend could stay home with her and their kids all the time, her mood was instantly lifted.
"I think it's not a bad idea," Rio agreed.
Henry smiled at her, then started playing with his daughters again.
Now that Henry had gained six years of baby caretaking experience from Ry-Two, it wouldn't be too much to say that he was now more capable of taking care of their daughters than his girlfriend, Rio.
Henrietta was still curious for a while before she soon forgot about it and started playing with her Papa again.
But Rion was smart and persisted with her curiosity, not until she was distracted by Henry's magic trick that she finally completely forgot about Ry-Two, who had left.
The babies were active and happy.
They played with their Papa until 10 AM, when they finally showed some hint of tiredness.
Rio came over in her car, and she had stored most of the baby items inside just in case. So when it was about time for their daughters to eat, she went out to fetch the formula milk and drinking bottles for them.
Worried that the babies would cry without seeing her, Rio was quick on her feet; she even nearly slipped on the stairs outside and fell.
After she went back inside, her heart was broken again by the two treacherous daughters.
Not only did they not cry after she left, they also totally ignored her when she returned; their gazes and affections were all focused on their Papa—lying comfortably in his arms.
Rio felt unstable and had to reach out to the wall to steady herself.
She began to feel that seeking Henry's help was the wrong decision. This man might not only steal all her first times, but also take her two daughters!
Still, as an adult with a mature mentality, she knew what was best for her daughters, so after some secret tantrum-throwing at the villa entrance, she hurried into the kitchen and prepared milk for her daughters.
Normally, she would also give them some solid baby food, but today's reunion was important, and her nervousness rendered her unable to think clearly.
So Rio only brought their formula milk when she left her apartment.
...
Around noon.
As the babies had already had their fill of Papa and food, the two of them were now sleeping happily on the big sofa, hugging each other so adorably.
Now that the couple finally had some private time, Henry was the first to ask.
"How has your life been these two years?" he questioned, looking at his girlfriend with some guilt in his eyes.
Rio smiled gently and replied, "I still had my savings back then, so it wasn't that bad. Our daughters only lacked their father."
As she recalled the past, she dotingly caressed Henrietta's cheek, as she was drooling again.
This baby was more playful and active; she might take after her father more.
Henry nodded.
With his six years of baby-caretaking memories, he could see that his daughters were in good care, full of love.
"It was hard on you," Henry said.
Rio shook her head, then helped Rion change her sleeping posture.
This baby was brighter and curious; it's just that she was sometimes quirky, and her sleeping posture was awfully bad.
"Not at all, I enjoy raising our daughters. They are like a big bag of surprises. I learned new things about them every day."
'That they're not my allies in this household at all, they're all traitors.'
She was thinking to herself, unable to stop from gently poking little Rion's chubby cheeks.
This made the little girl squint and turn back to her bad sleeping posture from before, trying to escape the finger that was bothering her sleep.
The couple laughed at her reaction, then Henry suddenly questioned, "But why didn't you find me sooner?" He was curious.
Rio thought for a moment before honestly answering.
"After I returned that day, I found out that you are not only two years younger than me but had also just turned eighteen recently."
"I was so embarrassed that I only wanted to hide from you forever."
That crazy night.
On the bed together.
Rio's cheeks slowly turned red again as she recalled.
"But that shouldn't be the real reason, right?"
Henry's mind was now sharper than before. He asked.
"Yes. When I found out that I was pregnant, I really wanted to call you first. But after entering your number, I hesitated…"
Rio truly answered. She looked at the ceiling and recalled the distant memories.
That day, she had also been sitting on a hospital chair and glancing at the ceiling just like this.
With her phone in hand, she hesitated for a long time before ultimately deciding not to bother him.
'Anyway, he was just a freshman.'
'What can he do?'
That was Rio's thought, but she was sensible enough not to hurt her partner's pride, so she changed her words.
"Well, I sort of underestimated the babies. I thought that my savings were enough to raise them until you graduated and started working."
"Only then would I come over to let you know about the babies."
"But the babies are money-sinking holes; they burned out my wallet before I realized."
"So earlier today, when I couldn't hold on anymore, I decided to seek your help."
It turned out, when she came to his school to find him, the teacher informed her that he had successfully awakened as an Ability User and had already left the school.
It took her a while to convince them to give her his current address—mostly thanks to the babies' puppy eyes.
Part of it was also due to her stubbornness. She wanted to let him know about the baby face-to-face, not over the phone.
She worried that he might decide to run away and refuse his responsibility…
Also, after finding out that he had awakened as an Ability User, she knew he had money and was now capable of supporting their daughters.
As Rio told her side of the story, she suddenly felt bad and asked, "Do you think that I'm materialistic?"
How could Henry not understand what she was trying to imply?
He nodded instantly, which made Rio pout her charming lips in protest—but his next words made her feel so sweet that she could only smile at him.
"Thanks to you being materialistic, I could see my daughters sooner, and both mother and children didn't suffer any grievances at all."
"I can't wait to thank you!"
"Besides, you're my wife, and a husband must spoil his wife."
"My money is also your money. You can give that money to anyone for all I care," Henry honestly expressed his feelings, then he jokingly added, "But your heart can only be given to me, okay?"
Rio silently listened to his words and couldn't help but blush; she was both happy and shy.
"You're so annoying. I'm not your wife…"
Then she quietly added a "yet" after her protest, both her cheeks turning red again.
Every time she fell into this flirty atmosphere with this man, she unconsciously remembered that crazy night.
As for Henry—with his super-enhanced body, he could hear every single word from her clearly.
He smiled, "I won't joke with you anymore. But my feelings are real. Please give me a chance to prove my love for you, okay?"
The sudden attack out of nowhere took Rio by surprise; she was dumbfounded and too flustered to answer him right away.
To add oil to the fire, her stomach also protested; the noise was loud and clear.
'Oh my god, please just end me right here!'
'This is so embarrassing!'
Rio felt so shy that she could only hide her face behind her hands, sneak a glance at her man through the crack between her fingers.
Henry shook his head, then stood up.
'My girlfriend was so cute, right?' He feels so satisfied with his current life that he could only laugh foolishly.
"Let me cook something for you. Help me take care of the daughters," he said and left for the kitchen.
Rio glanced at his back and couldn't help but smile charmingly. He was so perfect and dependable that she felt like marrying him right now.
("Not realizing that her change of heart was bringing forward a disaster—
For some other people…")
...
Half an hour later.
Just as Henry was cooking and curious about how his clone was doing, he decided to peek at him, taking over the control of Ry-Two's left eye.
The next scene rendered him speechless.
Bodies were lying everywhere on the ground, and for some reason, Ry-Two was currently raising a man up with his collar in his grip.
He then ruthlessly smashed the man to the ground.
"Damn, what is going on!?" Henry was scared out of his wits.